A FEW THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT 100-RATED ROTTEN TOMATOES FILMS: Part 1

The weekend is upon us, so my next two days will feature entertainment.  However, there are several crucial matters of extreme importance.

• The most important, for me, and rest of Hawaii, is Hurricane Nola.
• She is at this moment on a path pointed directly at the Big Island of Hawaii

• 
  HOWEVER, AND THIS IS THE CRUCIAL MATTER, NOLA IS EXPECTED VERY SHORTLY TO MAKE A LEFT TURN, THEN HEAD WEST, LEAVING THE STATE ONLY WITH A LOT OF RAIN.
• If Nola keeps going straight north, the damages will be catastrophic for the Big Island.

• 
  If Nola swerves a little west, but only a small amount, she will soon strengthen into a Category 4 and totally wipe out Maui County.
• If Nola turns a little more westward, this Category 4 hurricane will cataclysmically devastate Oahu, where I live.

• 
  Just a little more westward, and Kauai experiences another Hurricane Iniki.
• However, if Hurricane Nola performs exactly like models predict and take a complete left turn, only a lot of rain (up to 35 inches for the Big Island, and somewhat less for Maui).
• The next couple of days could determine the future of Hawaii.
• 
  The Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico has not had any hurricanes this year.
• Their weather is influenced by the strong El Nino pattern in the Pacific, which ameliorates ocean storm conditions in the Atlantic.
• The last time the Atlantic and Gulf had no hurricanes was 112 years ago, in 1914.
• 
  However, the East Coast will this weekend be threatened by something called a nor'easter, from the Mid-Atlantic up through New England.
• Winds could approach hurricane force in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
• Waves should reach as high as 18 feet.
• 
  The 3-day summit between Xi Jinping and Donald Trump was heavy on pomp and light on substance.  They no doubt will meet for the third time this year at the November APEC gathering  in China.

• 
  Actually went well, for a lot of goodwill was shared.
• But there were no breakthroughs regarding Taiwan, AI and related key matters.
• Almost like they coordinated what to wear.  Note same ties.

Well, now into my topic of the day.  How I determine what films to view on all those streaming channels I now can watch.  Almost always, I depend on Rotten Tomatoes ratings to help me decide.

• Two years ago I provided an intro to Rotten Tomatoes.  I also asked if this photo is real.
• There are two ratings/film:  by reviewers and audiences.
• 
  However, for the Wikipedia list, only reviewers are used.
• Somewhere between 500,000 to a million films have so far been made.  This from Google AI.
• Also from Google AI, there are 480 films with Rotten Tomatoes 100 scores, where the minimum threshold is 20 reviewers.  Wikipedia has this list.

• 
  Using a number of 500 100-rated films and 500,000 total made, my math says that one-tenth of one percent thus make this 100 list.
• Variety picked the 30 highest rated movies of all time with 100% Rotten Tomatoes scores.  Never heard of more than half of them.

• 
  If only one reviewer does not give a film this 100% rating, than it gets a 99% rating.  To quote from Wikipedia.

The 100% rating is vulnerable to a film critic purposely submitting a negative review for notoriety. For example, Lady Bird had a 100% rating based on 196 positive reviews when a film critic submitted a negative review solely in response to the perfect rating.^[7] To date, Lady Bird has a 99% rating with 395 positive reviews and four negative reviews.^[8] Paddington 2 held a perfect rating from its release in 2017 until a film critic published a negative review in June 2021.^[9] To date, Paddington 2 has a 99% rating with 251 positive reviews and two negative reviews.^[10] The 100% rating could also be affected by rediscovering negative reviews, as in the case with Citizen Kane, when an 80-year-old negative review from the Chicago Tribune affected its former 100% rating with 115 reviews.^[11] As of August 2026, Citizen Kane has a 99% rating with 136 positive reviews and one negative review.^[12]

• 
  Can't be too sorry about Lady Bird because I found it utterly boring and definitely would not have given it a 100% rating.  Maybe more like 65%.
• Got to say something about Paddington films, and there are three of them:  Paddington, (2014) Paddington  2 (2017) and Paddington in Peru (2024)

• 
  I don't like animated movies, Paddington is computer generated.  About a young male bear from Peru who finds a home with the Brown family in London.  What can be more prosaic?
• But for reasons I can't explain, I've been wanting to see them.  However, I can't seem to find a free version of Paddington, which got a 96  score from reviewers and 81 from audiences. Amazon Prime does carry it for $3.99.
• Paddington 2 can be found on HBO Max, for free, because I have all the streaming stations, except for Apple TV.

• 
  Paddington in Peru received 93/90 scores from Rotten Tomatoes.  Netflix has it.
• There will be a Paddington 4.

So do I only watch films with extremely high Rotten Tomatoes scores?  

• Not only, but usually.
• Take a 2013 film Movie 43, for example.  Here is the Red Band trailer.
• Got scores of 5 from reviewers and 25 from the audience.
• But featured stars like Halle Berry, Kate Bosworth, Gerard Butler, Richard Gere, Hugh Jackman, Johnny Knoxville, Chris Pratt, Dennis Quaid, Liev Schreiber, Emma Stone, Jason Sudeikis, Uma Thurman, Naomi Watts, Kate Winslet and more.
• So I just had to take a look, and as terrible as Rotten Tomatoes scores were, I watched till the end.
• Read my review.
• Very interesting.

As Part 2 of this series, I will lead you to those 100-rated films.  Plus a half-dozen I recently watched, which for two of them, I actually got so bored that I stopped viewing them way before the end.  One 100-rated movie, called Black Narcissus, starred Deborah Kerr and Jean Simmons.

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JUST ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE.

The one breakthrough piece of news this morning is that Judge Timothy Kelly granted a temporary restraining order for the White House to allow banned news organization to regain their passes.  The White House responded by declaring that access had been restored as of 9:55AM EDT this morning.  But this will hardly be the end of this story.

Otherwise, read my posting of yesterday regarding the scheduled meetings, dinner and such between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping.  In other words, nothing much will happen, except this economic "truce" will be extended into January 2027.

Similarly, to be Hurricane Nolo threatening Hawaii is now following model projections, and what I said yesterday also prevails today.  Here is the morning news about this storm from the local Star-Advertiser.

Otherwise, Episode 55 of Kilauea Volcano, which on September 10, two weeks ago, I predicted should occur while our Silver Whisper was docked in Hilo....had not yet re-erupted.  How do I know?  I just now re-asked Google AI:

No, the main lava-fountaining event for Episode 55 of Kīlauea volcano has not occurred yet. [1, 2]

Event Status: Episode 55 is currently on hold or postponed.
Precursors: Precursory activity, including minor glow, flames, and over 100 small lava overflows, began around September 7, 2026.
Why it is delayed: Structural changes at the summit, including new minor vents that opened and stagnated, and a large 40-foot spatter cone clogging the North Vent, have temporarily dissipated pressure.
Alert Level: Kīlauea remains at a Volcano Alert Level of WATCH and an Aviation Color Code of ORANGE. [1, 2, 3]

When I returned from my total eclipse of the sun trip, I weighed myself and was shocked to see that I had gained 12 pounds.  Now I know why my knees hurt when I walked on board the Silver Whisper.  Nine days later, I was down 12.5 pounds to a desirable 154.4 pounds.  My knees now do not hurt.  

How did I accomplish this feat?  At home in 15 Craigside, I can control my diet, exercise more regularly and live securely and comfortably.  Also, I avoided alcohol during this period.  Yet, I'm astonished I lost that much weight so quickly.  I've never before had to do this.  In fact, from the age of 50 to 80 I weighed 165 pounds and could not lose even 4 pounds when I tried.  A few years ago I just ate less and exercised more, resulting in a reduction to 155 pounds, what I consider to be a desirable level in the normal range of the body mass index.

The title of my posting today is JUST ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE.  It does rain here.  Hurricane Nolo will begin to affect Honolulu from tomorrow.  But here is video of what I saw from my computer yesterday.

These are typically meals I pick up from the dining room, with enhancements to make them more palatable.  Chicken Katsu with hamachi  sashimi.

Somen salad.

I determined in my recent diet that I could eat these high calorie meals, if I keep my breakfast to fruits and yogurt for breakfast, and a third meal of soup of salad.  And no alcohol.  It worked!!!

The winner of America's Got Talent was 16-year old Nene Royal, from Phuket, Thailand.  All her performances.  She already has a Wikipedia page.

• Born Rattikarn Amloy in 2010 in Phuket, Thailand.
• Called Praew by her family and friends.
• Began playing the guitar at 6, and is self-taught.
• She wanted to study computing in school, but could not be accommodated (whatever that means), so instead enrolled in music.

• 
  Back home, is in Grade 11 and performs at the Naka Weekend night market in Phuket.
• At the age of 15, entered America's Got Talent season 21, and for her live audition, performed Zombie.  
• This became the most-viewed of all the auditions.  
• Maybe it's my old age, but I just couldn't appreciate her talent.
• In comparison, here is Zombie by the Cranberries, an Irish alternative rock band.  Released in 1994, 32 years ago, as a protest song.

• 
  After this experience, she was invited to a Cabinet meeting of Thailand's Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, where they announced that the government would support her for all expenses at AGT performances.
• She missed the cut, but was invited back by Howie Mandel in a round called Judges' Callbacks.  Her Hysteria got over 2 million views in 24 hours.  This made her one of the acts into the live shows.
• She performed Black Hole Sun in the quarterfinals, leading these judges comments:

Mandel was the first to comment, saying, "I know I'm not supposed to say this. NBC, give her the million right now."^[44] Vergara said, "Nene, I think you could really win this competition... You can play that guitar...insanely."^[43] Mel B said, "How could I not do this" and gave Nene the Golden Buzzer, sending her directly to the final.^[47][48]

• 
  Also after that success, Thailand's second-richest family (Chearavanont) gave her family a luxury condominium in Bangkok
• She got last night from America's Got Talent a MILLION DOLLARS.
• When I began composing this posting, JUST ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE was a title to describe my life in Hawaii.  However, it clearly applies more to Nene, and she has 70 more years to accomplish a lot more than me.  

• 
  Oh, if you watched AGT this week, Simon Cowell was missing.  Why?  Just routine back surgery from an earlier accident.
• Finally, my favorite act was by Unitree Robotics from Hangzhou, China.  Watch this video.  AI and human robots are getting too real.

WHAT, ANOTHER HURRICANE AGAIN THREATENING HAWAII?

Today is sci-tech day, but the only topic of much interest has to do with President Donald Trump and artificial intelligence.  In a wide-ranging rant at the UN General Assembly in New York City yesterday, he suggested that AI be instead called superintelligence.  Of course, he had a few other remarks.

President Donald Trump said he was considering whether to “annihilate” Iran, called the U.S. economy “the envy of the world” and suggested a name change for AI, in a speech at the United Nations General Assembly. The wide-ranging speech came ahead of several anticipated meetings on the sidelines with world leaders, including his first with Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, since the administration’s capture of Nicolás Maduro earlier this year. Today, Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to arrive in Washington, D.C., to meet with Trump to talk trade, Taiwan and AI. Trump later said U.S. envoys met with Iranian officials for three hours on the sidelines of the gathering, an unexpected development that offered a glimpse of diplomatic activity. But Trump has repeatedly floated new attacks on Iran, even previously threatening death to the entire civilization. On Tuesday, he revived that warning at one of the most prominent platforms for world leaders, with an Iranian delegation in the audience.

No doubt that a key meeting will be China's president Xi Jinping at the White House with Trump tomorrow.

• Will discuss trade, tariffs, AI, rare-earth minerals, Taiwan and Iran.
• They've discussed all that before, and expect nothing new to occur.
• That AI discussion could well be crucial, for the USA now seems to be pulling back from advancing this technology, while China can do anything it wants.

Tropical Storm Odalys was headed for Hawaii, but yesterday suddenly made an unusual right turn towards California.  Today, became a hurricane and will not bother us.

The monster storm in the East Pacific Ocean is now Hurricane Polo.  

• Became a hurricane on September 21 while also traveling east.
• Made almost a complete path reversal to the west, and yesterday zoomed up to 180 MPH, stronger than any super hurricane I've recently seen in that part of the world.
• Today is back down to 145 MPH and weakening.
• Looks to make landfall over Baha in a day or two.

The sneaky one is Tropical Depression 15-E.

• Detected 10 days ago as a non-threatening anomaly predicted to move west, but with a path far south of the Big Island of Hawaii  
• But had staying power, for it maintained a strength of 35MPH for a week.
• As would be expected, weakened to 30 MPH on September 16, still moving west, but on its way to disappearing.

• 
  However, today strengthened back to 35 MPH.
• During the past few days, meteorologists seemed confused on strength and path.  Usually, models can be predicted far ahead of time and are usually right.  Not for 15-E.
• They are now telling us that this depression will become a tropical storm tomorrow, then make a right turn towards Hawaii, strengthening into Hurricane Nolo by the end of the day.

• 
  Expected to further strengthen into a Category 2 hurricane in two days, heading for East Hawaii.
• Will further strengthen into a Category 3 on February 26, but probably make a sudden left turn to the west.
• Maintain Category 3 strength, but ease past the Big Island on the 27th, Sunday, with the eye sufficiently south to avoid landfall.
• In the meantime, already, there is a flood watch from Noon today for the Big Island and Maui.

• 
  You don't want to be on a cruise in the vicinity of the Alenuehaha Channel from tomorrow for a few days.
• Rainfall totals could reach 20 inches across Maui, and 35 inches on the Big Island.  Even Honolulu could get up to 6 inches of rain.
• Surf on Friday and Saturday will be gigantic.

We celebrate several national days today.  Heard of?

National Great American Pot Pie Day: A popular comfort-food celebration honoring the classic flaky pie. [1, 2]

Any pot pie with combinations of chicken, beef, pork, turkey and seafood, with potatoes, xarrots, green beans and peas. 

 A flaky top crust, and manytimes bottom too. 

 But gravy is the key. 

 In case you were wondering, there are two National Pie Days:  December 1 and January 23.  Why?  Return on December 1.

National Checkers Day and Dogs in Politics Day: A unique day commemorating Richard Nixon's famous dog, Checkers, and celebrating political pets. [1, 2]

Celebrate Bisexuality Day (also known as Bi Visibility Day): An international observance recognizing the bisexual community and history. [1]

International Day of Sign Languages: A global UN observance promoting the linguistic identity of deaf people. [1]

Restless Legs Awareness Day: A health awareness day focused on RLS. [1, 2]

Teal Talk Day:  Nothing to do with the color.  Instead, this is a day to talk about ovarian cancer.

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